Loving Dean Sullivan

Everyone at Blackthorne University knows Dean Sullivan.

The boxer with bruised knuckles, a permanent suspension warning hanging over his head, and a temper people swear is one second away from exploding.

Most students avoid him.
Others provoke him.
Nobody really knows him.

Not the nights he spent protecting his little sister instead of sleeping.
Not the childhood he survived.
Not the guilt that follows him everywhere like a shadow.

Then there's Ella Hayes.

Quiet. Brilliant. Impossible to intimidate.

She's the only person who looks at Dean Sullivan and doesn't see someone dangerous.

She sees someone hurting.

What starts as late-night conversations and accidental run-ins slowly turns into something neither of them expected - a relationship that feels safe, terrifying, and impossible to walk away from.

But Dean has spent his whole life believing violence is the only thing he's good at.

And loving Ella might mean learning how to become someone else entirely.

Or losing the only good thing he's ever had.